Meet the Author

The FermentedlyChallenged blog has been retired since the end of October 2016. It has been a great 9 year run. Thanks to all the readers and brewery staff for all your support in the past. I'm living in the Denver metro area and working in the Cable TV industry now. Cheers and enjoy beer responsibly. Follow along on social media - @ChipperDave on Twitter and on Facebook.

Elitch Gardens Brew Festival (Denver) - This Saturday, Sept. 21, from noon to 5 PM, the increasingly beery folks at Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park are hosting their first beer festival. The event features over 45 different beers and a few ciders, and gives attendees the chance to enjoy The Tower of Doom and a Titan IPA, a trip down the Lazy River and a Lagunitas IPA. Tickets are $39.99 and include access to the park and all of its rides, plus sampling of all 45+ beers on hand. Elitch Gardens season ticket holders can enjoy the beer fest for an extra $5. Beer fest tickets are available online at www.elitchgardens.com/brew-festival or at the gate on Saturday if the beer fest tickets aren't already sold out.

Copper Kettle Brewing (Denver) - Each and every Wednesday, Copper Kettle puts out another unique firkin. September is Fresh Hop Cask Month. Today's firkin is a "Chinook Fresh Hop" ale. This limited batch taps at 3:00pm and runs til it's gone. East Coast Joe's will also be on site with food starting at 4:00pm.River North Brewery (Denver) - [PRESS RELEASE] River North Brewery promised its fans several new barrel-aged releases this fall, and now they’re delivering on that promise. On Saturday, October 5th at 1pm, just one week after River North releases Rum Barrel Quandary, the brewery will introduce a new limited-release barrel-aged collaboration project. The first beer in the series: B-Side Quandary! A collaboration with Mr. B’s Wine and Spirits, B-Side Quandary is River North’s signature Quadrupel aged in oak bourbon barrels with cherries. Refined and deceivingly smooth, B-Side Quandary takes a legendary style, bourbon barrel quad, and elevates it further by finishing with a kiss of cherry. This beer will be one of the most exclusive River North releases to date; only 30 cases were bottled. Individually numbered bombers will be available both at Mr. B’s and the taproom on October 5th. The taproom will have a two-bottle limit during the release party. The beer will be on tap as well. Mr. B’s will release more bottles Friday, October 11th during the height of the Great American Beer Festival. For those attending GABF sessions, River North will pour samples of B-Side Quandary at booth I30 in the Mountain region. Mr. B’s is located on the corner of Market St and 22nd St, roughly one mile from the Colorado Convention Center, where the festival is held. B-Side Avarice, the second beer in the B-Side series, will release during the winter.

Parry's Pizza (4 Metro locations) - Parry’s Pizza has joined forces with St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital to raise much needed funds to further their mission. Parry’s Pizzeria & Bar has been serving their very own, Landon’s Wanna Walk Wheat, since the spring of 2013 and can be found on tap at all locations. Starting October 1st, 2013, Parry’s will donate .25¢ from every Landon’s Wanna Walk Wheat sold to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. This promotion will last for one calendar year leading up to a very special event in which a check will be given to St. Jude representatives in October of 2014.

All Female Brewer Collaboration Beer (Many breweries) - Last night kicked off a series of tappings at multiple locations of a special collaboration beer made by several female brewers in the state. The beer is called "Whakalicious" - its a pale yellow extra pale ale with hints of gold. It's described as: "Bright, fresh hops fading into passion fruit with hints of citrus and lemongrass on the nose. The medium to light body beer starts with a hop kick that melds into a light malt and finishes with a dry bitterness. These Motueka New Zealand hops will give you one last glimpse of summer before the chill of autumn sets in." If you missed the first tapping last night at Wynkoop (still on tap) you can also head to these other locations on September 30th for additional tapping celebrations: Amato's Ale House (Denver), Colorado Plus (Wheat Ridge), Freshcraft (Denver), West End Tavern (Boulder), Vail Ale House (Vail), Right Coast Pizza (Wheat Ridge) and Oskar Blues (all 4 locations). Proceeds from the sale of this beer go to benefit the Pink Boots Society. (Image provided by Lauren Wiersma - Oskar Blues)

Wit's End Brewing Co (Denver) - Wit’s End Brewing Company has entered the terrible twos! They promise there will be no tantrums, just good behavior and beer! Join in as they celebrate their two year anniversary on Saturday, September 21st, 12-8pm. They will be featuring 13 different beers on tap, including new beers as well as some that haven't made a tap appearance in over a year! There will be raffles for schwag, GABF tickets, and beer! They also have Pride of Philly serving up some of the best cheesesteaks in Denver!

Renegade Brewing (Denver) - Today Renegade posted their event schedule for Denver Beer Week and the Great American Beer Festival. Wednesday, October 9th 5pm to 9pm is Tour Night. It's a backstage pass to Renegade. They will offer free tours on the hour and will include free samples of a small batch beer. Then on Thursday, October 10th from 6pm - 9:30pm it's "One Flew Over the Barleywine Fest" at the Renegade Publick House. Taste 12 different barleywines and 1 Deranged Night brew. $30 ticket includes tastes, souvenir glass and a good time! Then on Friday, October 11th from 7pm to 9pm at the taproom it's an amazing $1 beer session. All beer served at the Renegade Brewing taproom will cost just $1.00!!

Freshcraft (Denver) - There's been a slight change to the upcoming Ska Seasonal Stout Tapping event on Thursday, September 19th (tomorrow) at 7pm. The organizers will be donating $3 for every pint of Ska Brewing beer sold to support Colorado Flood Relief. Also, if you are one of the first 24 people to order a Seasonal Stout you will get to keep the Ska glassware!

Yak & Yeti (Arvada) - From their blog, Adam Drager wrote: "On tap this week, is a special keg of the Belgian-style Dubbel Ale. The most classic example is Westmalle Dubbel. This beer is an Abbey-style beer which is typically 6-7.6%ABV. Ours was on the high side and came in at 7.8%ABV also very low bitterness in this style so only 14 IBU’s. The beer was made with homemade Belgian candi sugar, approximately 5lbs per barrel of medium-amber colored sugar."

Lone Tree Brewing (Lone Tree) - The brewery gave a heads-up today and let it be known that they will be closed this Sunday, September 22nd for an Employee Appreciation Picnic. Get your growler fills for the game early!

Star Bar (Denver) - Star Bar is planning to host a Colorado Flood Relief Fundraiser on Thursday, September 19th starting at 5pm til close. All proceeds of Colorado beer and spirits will be donated to local flood relief efforts.

Mountain Toad Brewing (Golden) - From their Facebook page: "This week we are celebrating the end of the calendar summer with a tadpole tapping of Toad's Trail Pale Ale. Using yeast splits and hop splits, this beer was the winner of several in-house taste tests and received the most votes from all of you! Thanks for being our guinea pigs and helping us formulate this easy drinking American Pale. Get some Thursday starting at 2pm, Toad won't be back on the Trail until Spring!"

Boulder County

West Flanders Brewing Co (Boulder) - Their one-year anniversary is right around the corner! In honor of the occasion, on Friday, Sept. 20, West Flanders will introduce a new Black IPA by Brewmaster Brian Lutz, and on Monday, Sept. 23, they will debut a new MENU from their new Chef, to be announced soon. Live music on Friday AND Saturday night will keep the good times rolling, and from Friday to Monday, they will donate $2 of every West Flanders beer sold to Colorado flood relief. Celebrate and help them help others at the same time!

Großen Bart Brewery (Longmont) - This brewery isn't open for business yet, but if you attend the Longmont Oktoberfest this weekend in Roosevelt Park you can try some of their beer for FREE! However, they do ask that you make a donation that will be donated to Flood Relief 2013. More info in this YouTube video.

Northern Colorado

FORToberfest (Ft. Collins) - This Friday and Saturday in Old Town Square is FoCo's newest event that will mix live music (from funk to bluegrass to rock to indie), bicycles and beers. The fun starts at 5pm on Friday September 20 and 11am on Saturday September 21 and lasts until 10:30pm each night. Check out the complete line-up on their official website. Beers from 7 Fort Collins breweries will be featured.

Pateros Creek Brewing (Ft. Collins) - The fun of the Oktoberfest season will also be spilling over into Pateros Creek this Saturday, September 21st from 2pm to 7pm as the brewery will be celebrating their annual Stevetoberfest. Special seasonal beer will be flowing, live music and fun activities. Plus, if your name just happens to be Steve or Stephanie your first beer is Free! Located close to the FORToberfest activities on the north side of Old Town.

Loveland Oktoberfest (Loveland) - Due to the recent flooding, the location for the Loveland Oktoberfest is changing and it will be cut back to just this Saturday only. The event will now be held in the parking lot outside of Grimm Brothers Brewhouse from 12pm to 9pm. Same great activities and great beer. Mother Nature may not have cooperated, but it won't dampen the festival spirit in Loveland. Check out more info at: www.LovelandOktoberfest.com.

High Hops Brewery (Windsor) - Got talent? Show it off! Join in at High Hops Brewery for Open Mic Night hosted by Jordan Price on Thursday, September 19th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. More details at: www.highhopsbrewery.com. Also, don't forget tonight's firkin release of "The Wrath of Hades" black pale ale tonight at 5pm.

Buckhorn Brewers (Loveland) - Don't let that big ROAD CLOSED sign on US 34 fool you. The brewery will be open again this weekend. They put up the Road Closed sign to scare away travelers from venturing up Big Thompson Canyon, but all of the businesses that are 1/4 mile further west from that sign are still open.

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers (California) - [PRESS RELEASE] San Francisco, CA – Speakeasy Ales & Lagers has announced that its full line of West Coast-style brews will be available statewide in Colorado starting in September. The brewery has signed an exclusive statewide distribution agreement with the Summit Beverage division of Beverage Distributors Company based in Aurora, CO. “Colorado represents one of the most vibrant and exciting craft brewing cultures in the country and we’re excited to be part of it,” says Brandon Borgel, Director of Sales & Marketing. “We've been getting calls for Speakeasy beer in Colorado for quite some time, and we’re finally ready to make it happen.” To kick off the first month, Speakeasy will be hosting a number of events and tastings at leading craft beer bars and bottle shops featuring the entire lineup of heavy hitters such as Big Daddy IPA, Prohibition Ale, Double Daddy Imperial IPA and Payback Porter. “There is such a cool craft beer scene in Colorado, and we’re looking forward to sharing our beers with a lot of new folks,” says Speakeasy’s brewmaster, Kushal Hall.
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